Transcriptional responses to water stress and recovery in a drought-tolerant fescue wild grass (Festuca ovina; Poaceae)

Abstract

Water stress associated with drought-like conditions is a major factor limiting plant growth and impacts productivity of natural plant communities and agricultural crops. Molecular responses of plants to water stress have been studied most extensively in model species and crops, few of which have evolved natural drought tolerance. In the current study, we examined physiological and transcriptomic responses at multiple timepoints during increasing water stress and following initial recovery from stress in a drought-tolerant C₃ species, Festuca ovina. Results demonstrated non-linear transcriptomic changes during increasing stress, but largely linear declines in physiological measurements during this same period. Transcription factors represented approximately 12.7% of all differentially expressed genes. In total, 117 F. ovina homologs of previously identified and molecularly characterized drought-responsive plant genes were identified. This information will be valuable for further investigations of the molecular mechanisms involved in drought tolerance in C₃ plants.

Keywords: Festuca ovina; RNA-seq; drought tolerant; facteur de transcription; stress hydrique; tolérance à la sécheresse; transcription factor; water stress.